Snapper attachment for wrench handles



Nov. 21, 1950 R. CRAIG SNAPPER ATTACHMENT FOR WRENCH HANDLES Filed Sept.15, 1947 Patented Nov. 21, 1950 SNAPPER ATTACHMENT Fi'iR/"WRENCH'HANDLES Rufus Craig, Hobbs, N. Mex. Application September 15,-1947,SerialNo. 774,100

2 Claims. i

This invention relates to improvements in rod wrenches, and moreparticularly to a snapper attachment for securing to a wrench handle forobtaining an additional pull or snap on the wrench handle when couplingor uncoupling sucker rods in oil wells.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved snapper attachmentfor positioning upon the outer end of a rod wrench handle, said devicebeing provided with a tubular housing extending at right angles to saidhandle in which a heavy steel ball and coil spring are housed, wherebywhen the Wrench is applied to a sucker rod for tightening or breaking ajoint between two rod sections, a, quick pull o the wrench handle willcause the heavy steel ball to move against the coil spring to compressthe same, after which the coil spring will forcibly project the ballinto engagement with the end of the housing to impart a further snap orpressure upon the wrench handle in the direction of its movement, whichaction will further tighten the joint if it is being tightened or willreadily break a joint if the joint is being unscrewed or broken.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedsnapper attachment for rod wrenches which will be highly efficient inoperation, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and produce.

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a rod joint showing a pair of rodwrenches attached thereto with the improved snapper attachment disposedupon the handle of one of said wrenches;

Figure 2 is a, perspective view of a rod wrench with the improvedsnapper attachment shown on the end of the wrench handle, being partlybroken away and in section to show the inner construction thereof;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken onthe line 3-3 of Figure 1, and lFigure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line id of Figure 3.

Like characters of reference are used throughout the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings to designate correspondingparts.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided an improved snapperattachment for rod wrenches, or for wrenches of any other type, the samebeing adapted to be secured upon the outer end of the wrench handle.

The usual type of rod wrenchis provided :with ahandlei ,and with aJ-shape head or jaw member 2 which will he p-ivotally supported upon theinner end of said handle upon the cross bearing pin or rivet 3.

The improved snapper attachment comprises a T-shape body membergenerally designated by the reference numeral 4 having a shank portion 5which is, axially and longitudinally bored as at G for receiving theouter round end i of the wrench handle 5, the same being secured inplace by means of the cross locking pin 8 extending through alignablebores 9 and Iii formed respectively through the shank 5 and handle end1.

A cylindrical housing H is welded at 62 at right angles to the outer endof the shank portion 5 and is closed at one end as at 53; The oppositeend of said cylindrical 0r tubular housing i l is open, and isinternally threaded at its outer extremity as at it, for detachablyreceiving and supporting the externall threaded closure plug or memberl5. A heavy coil spring it is disposed within the housing H and a heavysteel ball 37 is disposed within the housing I I between the adjacentend of the coil spring l6 and the closed end E3 of said housing I I.

In operation, when a rod point is to be tightened or broken between twosucker rod sections 58 and I9, rod Wrench 28 will be secured upon thesquare portion 2! on the rod section l8, and another rod wrench with theimproved snapper attachment supported upon its handle i will have itsjaw member 2 disposed upon the square shank 22 on the rod section iii.The wrench 2% will be held tightly with one hand, and the other handwith the snapper attachment on its handle will be given a quick jerk,which action will cause the heavy steel ball 5'! to move against andcompress the heavy coil spring it, which will then forcibly project theheavy steel ball [8 against the closed end E3 of the housing H to impartan additional heavy snap and movement to the wrench handle I. In thismanner, the rod joint will be readily broken if it is being unscrewed,or will be further tightened if the same is being secured and tightened.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there has beendevised and provided a highly efficient form of snapper attachment forwrench handles, and more particularly of the rod Wrench type, whichdevice will be highly efficient in operation, and relatively inexpensiveto manufacture and produce.

While the preferred embodiment of the instant invention has beenillustrated and described, it will be understood that it is not intendedto limit the scope of the invention thereto, as many minor changes indetail of construction may be resorted to without departure from thespirit of the invention.

Having described the claimed as new is:

1. In combination with a wrench having an elongated handle and a headpivoted at one end thereof, a snapper attachment comprising a boredshank receiving the opposite end of said I handle, a tubular housingsecured at right angles g to said shank, and resilient impetus producinmeans disposed in said tubular housing.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said tubular housing is closed atboth ends and said resilient impetus producing means includes a ball anda spring interposed between said ball and one of said closed ends, saidspring normally urging said ball toward the other closed end.

RUFUS CRAIG.

invention what is REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 690,940 Febiger Jan. 14, 19021,038,539 Douglas Sept. 17, 1912 1,710,317 Lynch Apr. 23, 1929 1,923,122Smith Aug. 22, 1933 2,398,392 Page Apr. 16, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 554,621 France Mar. 5, 1923 887,739 France Aug. 23, 1943

